


The New Reality- An Inverse!Solangelo Fic

by i_write_shakespeare_not_disney



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Camp Half Blood, Demigods, M/M, inverse, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney/pseuds/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney
Summary: Nico di Angelo woke up to his sister tossing him off the bed. His dead sister. His dead sister who was now very much alive. That was the beginning to the strange new world Nico was in. And it got weirder when he was told he was a son of Apollo. And "the creepy Hades kid" was Will Solace but also... not. Instead of shadow travelling and the ability to raise the dead, Nico now has healing abilities and light bending. Everything about this world was wrong. And the worst part was Will wanting nothing to do with him. Slowly, he loses his grip on reality, on that other world, and delves further into this one. This one where Bianca is alive and healthy and Will is hurt and traumatized and plagued with the terrors Nico once had. Nico knew he was the only one who could help. After getting through that rugged, angry exterior, he manages to convince Will that friendship is possible for him. Now the question is whether Nico will stay in this reality where things were better but at the same time not, or whether he would go back to his own. And if he chose the latter, how was he supposed to get back?





	1. Ch. 1

The first weird thing was sitting up after being nudged to the floor and seeing Bianca. Her hands were on her hips, her freckled face smiling, her hair pulled back in a Greek style braided roll. “Wake up. You know for a son of Apollo, you suck at waking up on time.” Nico sat up and frowned. Son of Apollo?

“Come on, breakfast is starting.” Bianca pulled Nico up, but before she turned away, Nico stopped her by grabbing her arm. She frowned and looked back at him in confusion, but all Nico could do was stare at her in wonder.

She was alive. Breathing, smiling, talking, rosy cheeked. She looked sixteen…. Without another thought, Nico pulled her into a hug. She smelled like honey, like she always had. She was _warm._ Warm with life. “Um, are you okay?” she asked, rubbing his back soothingly.

He pulled back and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I just… bad dream.”

He glanced around the cabin and frowned at the new faces. Where was Will? “Who are you looking for?” Bianca asked, nudging him out of the cabin.

“Will. Where is he?”

She frowned. “Will Solace?” she whispered. “The creepy Hades kid?” Nico felt his stomach drop. “What do you want him for?”

Nico looked in the direction of the Hades cabin and nearly tripped over himself when he saw the person walking out of it. That was _not_ Will. In no possible universe could that person be his Will.

Despite wanting to take a moment to really look at him, Bianca continued to pull him to the pavilion for breakfast. He sat at the Apollo table, surrounded by unnamed siblings. As he reached over for a napkin, he saw his refracted reflection against the metal of the container.

His skin was darker, the olive tone it was always supposed to be. His cheeks were rounder, his freckles slightly more visible, the circles under his eyes were completely gone, and his eyes seemed bright, despite their dark color.

Before he could mention anything to Bianca, a girl came up to Nico and handed him a doctor’s coat. “Hey, you left it in the cabin,” she said. She sat down in front of him and began eating. Meanwhile, Nico stared at the coat in confusion. This was Will’s coat. This was the coat he wore almost every day. Why was it his now?

“What is it, are your cards not in the pocket?” Bianca asked. Nico blinked and gave her a confused look before hesitantly reaching into the pocket of the coat. He felt a large deck of cards under his fingers and his breath caught.

Slowly, as though the cards would bite him if he moved too fast, he pulled them out. His hands were shaking by the time he managed to process the large double “M” emblazoned on the front of each card. He turned them over and recognized them all immediately. But he’d burned these cards…. He’d burned them years ago….

“Nico, are you okay? Do you feel sick?” Bianca asked. Nico shook his head and stuffed the Mythomagic cards back into the coat.

“I’m fine, I just….” He looked up and saw Will sitting at the Hades table, staring at his plate with an empty look. “I’ll be right back,” he said. He stood up and started slowly for Will, taking in the ragged, painful appearance as he did.

His skin was gray. His hair was so limp and pale, it looked silver. His eyes were pale, sunken into the dark skin around them. On his finger was a silver skull ring, and at his side a Stygian iron sword. He was dressed in a black shirt with two angry skulls stacked on top of each other and a black aviator jacket. He had faded black jeans and scuffed Timberland boots with the laces undone. His fingers were bone thin, his cheeks hollowed, his lips chapped and pale.

As Nico neared him, he heard a hush come over the pavilion. Will’s eyes darted to him, his face twisting into a scowl that made Nico shiver. “Hey,” he said softly. Will raised an eyebrow and clenched his jaw. “You shouldn’t sit alone. I’m sure Chiron wouldn’t mind if you sat with… the Apollo table.”

“I’m fine,” he muttered in a voice that lacked the bright joy that had always given it life. It was a hollow, empty sound that took Nico by surprise.

“You know it’s okay not to be,” Nico said, repeating what Will had once told him near the beginning of their friendship. Will’s pale eyes focused on Nico, burning with anger and distrust. “Will, it’s okay to be hurting. But you have friends-”

A cold stoic laugh scratched its way out of Will’s throat. “Friends?” he scoffed. “You want to talk about friends? My friends are ghosts and zombies. These people? Please.” He stood up and his hand clenched around the hilt of his sword. As he stepped toward Nico, Nico couldn’t help but take a step back. “I know what they say about me. They call me a freak. The creepy Hades kid, the ghost boy,” he spat between clenched teeth, low enough for only Nico to hear. He started away from him, but Nico couldn’t let him go. Not when his words rang so familiar.

He reached a hand out to stop him, but was taken by surprise when Will snatched away and the ground beneath him began to tremble. A black sword was pointed at him, and Nico fell to the floor in his attempt to back away. The pavilion floor cracked and Nico scrambled back before it burst open and swallowed him down. He stared in shock as the floor began to seal itself back together, with a long fissure as the only evidence of what Will had done.

Bianca had immediately raced to his side and the other campers were whispering. Meanwhile Will’s breaths had turned fast as he glanced around anxiously. Nico could almost read his mind, _They think I’m a freak._ But before Nico could stand and start for him again, Will turned away and disappeared into a pillar’s shadow.

Nico started walking without thinking, expecting his own ability to shadow travel to work. But Bianca had grabbed his arm and pulled him back harshly. “What were you thinking? You know that guy has boundary issues!” She turned his face, checking for injuries, but Nico pushed her hand away. “You’re acting so weird. Maybe you shouldn’t go to the infirmary today.”

Nico blinked. He stared at the fissure then at the shadow Will had melted into. He stared at his own hands. Did that mean…?

His head snapped up. If Will was anything like him, shadow traveling would exhaust him. “I’ll be back,” he said quickly. He ran to the infirmary, and rummaged through the small fridge until he found a Gatorade. He paced back and forth as he thought of the places Will could have gone. He could have gone to his cabin, knowing nobody would dare to bother him there. But if Will was living Nico’s life, he could also be near Zeus’ fist where Nico himself had often gone when debating whether he should run or stay.

He raced back out of the infirmary ignoring the confused campers as he dove into the forest. Sure enough, when he reached Zeus’ Fist, Will was laying on the ground, unconscious.

Nico kneeled beside him and pulled him onto his lap, horrified with the toll their switched roles had taken on him. Nico had known so much pain, the goddess of pain herself favored him. Now all of that pain had been Will’s.

If Nico was right, then he’d be able to help Will out of this state and get him to react. He placed one hand against his chest, using the other to hold him and closed his eyes. He concentrated, his brows furrowed, his bottom lip between his teeth, until he heard groaning.

When he opened his eyes, wisps of golden light were receding into his hand and Will’s eyes were fluttering open. “Drink this,” he said when Will’s eyes focused and narrowed on him. “It’ll help. Trust me.” He gave him the Gatorade bottle as he sat up and scooted away from him.

Will drank the Gatorade and eyed Nico warily. He managed to chug it all down before wiping his mouth and glaring at Nico. “How’d you find me?”

With a shrug, Nico said, “I had a hunch.” Will frowned. “I don’t think you’re a freak,” he whispered. Will’s eyes hardened and his lips pursed together. “I know you’ve been through a lot of pain and hurt. You’re not comfortable with people. That’s okay. It doesn’t make you a freak.”

Will scoffed. “Tell them that,” he muttered, jutting his chin toward the rest of camp. Nico didn’t answer. Will shook his head, his nose turned red the way it always did when he was fighting back tears, and his voice shook when he spoke again. “Nothing’s been the same since Kayla died. And that stupid Poseidon guy…,” he spat with so much venom it took Nico by surprise. “He promised. And he lied.”

“He tried,” Nico said gently.

Will jerked his head toward Nico, anger and pain twisting and contorting his features into someone Nico couldn’t recognize despite the familiar face. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have someone you love taken from you? To wake up every day knowing you’re all alone, a pariah, a freak!” He gasped, trying to control his emotions, but failing. “I just want to give up,” he spat. “I’m tired of it all, I can’t- I can’t handle it. Nobody could handle everything I’ve gone through.”

The implication made goosebumps rise on Nico’s skin. He wanted to scream. But he knew he couldn’t. He thought instead of the soothing words Will would use. “I can’t tell you that I know your pain. Pain is relative. But I’ve been counted on to save people. And I’ve failed. I know what it’s like to care so much and have it be in vain.” Will looked away from him, scowling. Slowly and hesitantly, Nico put his hand over his. It was shockingly cold and frail. Will tense and looked at him in disbelief. Nico wondered if Will could feel the electricity too. “You’re not a freak, Will. People are just scared of what they don’t understand. You outcast yourself. You could have friends if you just stopped running away all the time.”

“What do you know?” Will snapped, snatching his hand back, looking uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Nico just smiled. “Fine. You can make your own choice. But not before you spend some time in the infirmary.” Will blinked in surprise as he began to get angry again. Nico raised a finger and shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it. Three days. Doctor’s orders.” Will’s mouth fell open as he stared at Nico dumbly.

Then, slowly, he shut it and cleared his throat. “Fine,” he mumbled. Nico smiled and Will winced. “Ugh, do you have to be so bright and sunny about everything?” Nico snorted and stood up, looking at Will expectantly. He grumbled, but stood and followed him all the way to the infirmary.


	2. Ch. 2

Nico wondered if he had been this stubborn during his time in the infirmary. Had he been this hardheaded and snippy? If so, when he got back- _if_ he got back- he had a lot of apologizing to do.

“I. Don’t. Need. That. Crap!” Will enunciated.

“You’re. Not. The. Doctor!” Nico snapped back. Will crossed his arms and scowled at Nico, looking up at him as he leaned over the cot. “Would you just take the stupid medicine?” Will clamped his lips shut tight and turned away. “You’re impossible!” The corner of his mouth quirked. Nico raised an eyebrow. Then he sighed. “Oh well,” he said dramatically. “I guess if I can’t be sure you’re getting better I’ll just have to keep you here longer.”

“What!” Will exclaimed. He glared at Nico with pale blue eyes and those dark circles under his eyes. He felt his heart stutter, both in longing and in guilt. He wanted so badly to simply wrap his arms around Will and hold his hand and kiss his cheek like he used to. He wanted to see him smile and hear him laugh and sing, instead of the way he was now. Somehow this had to be Nico’s fault.

“Why do you always look at me like that?” Will snapped suddenly pulling Nico out of his reverie.

Nico blinked and looked away, putting the medicine up. “Like what?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Like… I don’t know. It’s weird. Like you….”

“Like I care?” Nico suggested. He remembered how surprised he was to find that someone could care about him. That someone could worry over him the way Bianca would, that they would encourage him, and nurse him back to health.

When he looked back at Will, he saw the very same expression on his face. “Yeah, I guess that.”

“Because I do,” Nico said. “I do care.”

“But why?” Nico didn’t answer. “I mean I’m not here for you to pity.”

“I don’t p-”

“Don’t you?” Will spat. “What with the whole, ‘sit at the Apollo table,’ ‘everyone needs a friend,’ ‘it’s okay not be fine.’ I mean come on.”

“I was being nice and empathetic, you jerk!” Will’s eyes widened and he stared at Nico. “For the gods’ sakes, Will! It’s possible that someone just wants to help. Okay, I just want you to stop feeling like you’re alone, because you’re not. And you think no one cares about you, but that’s not true. I care! I care and if you feel like you can’t handle feeling so much hurt all the time, then I want to help you so you won’t have to.”

For a few tense seconds, Will just stared at him. There was so much wariness in his eyes, Nico wasn’t sure if he believed him. His sudden outburst made his own face burn. He sighed and looked away from Will who wasn’t really Will.

Suddenly, he heard his sister. “Uh, am I interrupting?” she said as she walked in.

And like he always did when he heard Bianca speak or saw her standing in front of him, Nico did a double take and felt his heart swell. “No, what’s up?” he questioned.

She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced over at Will nervously. She gave him a hesitant nod. “Just wanted to know if you were going to eat with us this time. Or… are you staying here again?” He could hear her distaste in her voice.

Despite himself, he felt a little angry. “Is there something wrong with that?”

Bianca blinked her wide brown eyes at him. Her cheeks colored slightly. “No, of course not. You always obsess over patients.”

“He’s not just a patient. He’s my friend.” He noticed Will’s head jerk up from the corner of his eyes. Bianca’s eyebrows went up and her lips parted in surprise. Nico turned to Will and tried to seem nonchalant. “You need to eat. So get up and let’s go, you’re sitting at our table.”

“I don’t know if Chiron-” Bianca began.

“He has a doctor’s note. I need to be sure he eats,” Nico said. “Or I’ll sit at his table if it makes you so uncomfortable?” He felt hurt that Bianca felt this way. She didn’t have to go through this at camp the way Nico had. She had no idea.

Something in his tone must have offended Bianca because her voice was crisp and bitter when she spoke. “No, no bother at all. But you should hurry.” Nico nodded and she turned away, giving Will a final glance before leaving.

When she was gone, Will cleared his throat. “You want to be friends with… me?”

“Wow, you’re dense,” Nico muttered, a slight smile on his lips. “Let’s go, Sunshine. Time to eat.”

It must have been his straightforward demeanor or lack of fear, but he’d sent Will into enough shock that the boy could only do as he was told. He followed Nico to the pavilion and sat down with the rest of the Apollo table. At first everyone had become awkwardly quiet. Then Bianca offered Will an avocado sandwich and everyone slowly returned to their usual conversations.

When Nico had taken Will back to the infirmary, he couldn’t help but wonder if Will would still want to run off or worse. Will hadn’t really spoken since they ate.

He sat down on a cot, keeping his eyes steady on Nico, still surprised and confused. Nico wondered if this had been how he looked when Will first had him sit with the Apollo kids and explained their friendship.

“I know it’s not perfect,” Nico said, uneasy with those eyes following him everywhere. “But it’s a start, right? I mean…. This is the third day. Maybe you still want to leave. But… could you just try to stay? Don’t you see that things could be better?”

Will didn’t answer him. He stared at him emptily and then tore his eyes away. Nico feared the answer. He didn’t want to lose Will even in this completely incorrect reality.

Then, his voice drifted to Nico, soft, raspy, uncertain.

“Don’t I have to stay longer since I didn’t take my medicine?”


	3. Ch. 3

He was beginning to forget reality. Slowly but surely, he was delving into the life that had been flipped around him. He grew used to seeing his sister and arguing with her every day until she shut him up by putting him in a headlock. He got used to seeing Will lounging lazily on a cot in the infirmary where people looked to Nico instead of him for help. He began playing Mythomagic as often as he used to. He found himself shuffling his cards idly and automatically when he was thinking.

The place he had come from was starting to fade in his memory, and he wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or not. Was it so bad to be in this happier version of camp? This version where Bianca was alive and he could help Will and still be with him?

And as he thought of it, the thought disappeared like smoke in his brain.

“What are you thinking?” Bianca asked as she sat beside him. Nico started and blinked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Of course, you never think,” she joked. “Where’s that Solace kid?”

“Will,” Nico corrected.

She smirked at him and nudged him. “Does he know you like him? You should tell Mama about him.” Suddenly Nico’s head snapped up. His mother? She was alive too?

Of course. His mama had died because Zeus wanted to kill the children of Hades. In this world she had been Apollo’s lover. The idea made him shiver.

“Uh, no. No he doesn’t know. He can barely believe I want to be his friend.” He felt himself blush as Bianca chuckled beside him. “I have to go. Infirmary will be full today after capture the flag.” She smiled as he left the cabin.

He walked to the infirmary and was greeted by the sight of Will sitting up in a cot, stretching and yawning. His pale eyes drifted to Nico, unfocused and stoic. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Nico answered. “How did you sleep?”

“I didn’t.” His voice was empty. Cold and tired. Nico walked over to him and gestured for Will to look at him. He didn’t touch him, knowing well how uncomfortable it would make Will. Will obeyed and managed to meet his eyes. “I had a nightmare. I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep.” His voice cracked, his jaw tensed.

At that moment Nico only wanted to hug him, hold him and make him stop feeling so afraid. Will wrapped his arms around himself and furrowed his eyebrows. “Will,” Nico whispered, wishing so badly to take this pain away from him.

He extended a hand slightly and reached for his face. He froze when Will jerked back. “Will,” he repeated. Will looked at him, shock and fear clear in those haunted eyes. He pulled his hand back and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.” He scratched his head and stepped away. “Um, you’re fine now, by the way. If you’d prefer to sleep in your cabin or something. I won’t hold you hostage anymore.”

“Okay,” Will muttered. “Thanks.” Nico nodded and busied himself with the cabinets.

Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with melancholy and hurt. He wanted to be back. Back in that reality where Will played with his fingers idly while rambling on and on about nothing and everything. And when he’d kiss his cheek the moment he saw him in the morning and before parting ways throughout camp and before Nico went to bed. He missed feeling Will’s arm begin to wrap around him, and if Nico didn’t pull away, the way they’d wrap around tightly, surely, protectively. He missed wrapping his own arms around him, trying to soothe him after a long day in the infirmary.

“Hey?” Nico blinked and refocused. “Are you… okay?” Will asked.

“Yeah, why?”

Will shrugged. “You got this weird look on your face.” Nico shook his head and waved the question away. “Okay. Well. I think I’ll go now. Thanks again.” Nico nodded, a knot forming in his stomach. Would he still leave? “I’ll uh… I’ll be in the arena. If you… need me.”

“Oh,” he said in shock. “Oh, okay. Yeah, cool.” Will nodded and hopped off the cot as he started for the door. “You should tie those shoes,” Nico called after, noticing the laces drag behind the boots.

“Make me,” he scoffed. He gave Nico a challenging smirk over his shoulder before he left. The rest of the day went by rather quickly. The infirmary filled up with injured campers after capture the flag and Nico didn’t have time to wonder about Will. He was grateful he’d learned about this so he didn’t feel so lost.

Most of all it felt good to work with Bianca at his side. She had come in when she saw all the campers to give Nico a helping hand. It was surreal. Hearing her talk and joke and laugh and seeing her smile. Nico felt so fascinated by this second chance.

Once curfew was coming up and the infirmary was empty, Bianca lingered. “Hey do you need any help?”

“Uh, no I think I’ve got it. Just have to sweep this. Go on back I’ll get to the cabin in a bit.” She nodded and started to leave when Nico called her back. “Wait.” He rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

He heard her chuckle and she hugged him tightly. “You okay, little bro?” He nodded and sighed. “You sure?”

He nodded again and pulled away. “No, yeah. Just… you know. You’re annoying but I love you.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she gave him a smile.

Then she ruffled his hair and answered, “Right back at you, Neeks.”

When she left, Nico continued to sweep the rest of the infirmary. As he was finishing up, he heard a soft knock. He turned and his breath caught when he saw Will leaning against the door, pale in every way, but so distinctive all the same. “Hey,” he said. “Busy day, huh?” Nico nodded mutely. “I… uh… have a question.”

The tone in his voice made him nervous. Still, he nodded. Surprisingly Will walked in and sat on a cot. He started tugging his sleeves over his hands and his eyes flitted across the floor. “So… you know how I said I get nightmares?” Nico nodded. “Well, I mean, it doesn’t really matter where I sleep. I still get them. And I wake up panicking and…. I mean, no matter where I am, there’s no way to know that… I’m okay. Because no one else is….” He hesitated and shook his head.

Finally getting the hint, Nico bit his lip and continued to sweep an area he had already cleaned. “Uh, if you think it will help, I could stay in your cabin. I’ll sleep on a chair. Be there if you have a nightmare, help you out.”

He didn’t look up, but he assumed Will’s cheeks would be bright red, so he kept his eyes on the broom bristles as they swept over the floor. “That’s… uh, is that even allowed, I mean-”

“I’ll give you a doctor’s note,” Nico answered with the trace of a smile on his face. He looked up to meet Will’s eyes and felt his heart stutter. “Doctor’s orders, Solace. You need a chaperone.”

Will held his eyes longer than he had before. Then he took a deep breath and looked away. “Whatever. Once you go all ‘doctor’s orders’ you’re impossible to shake.” He rolled his eyes and turned away, leaving Nico to smile after him and his stubborn pride.

He put the broom up and caught up to Will as he walked to the cabins. “You know you really should tie those,” Nico said, noting the untied laces.

“Is that another doctor order?” Will asked.

“Will you listen if it was?” Will smirked and shook his head. Will went into the cabin and Nico followed behind him, surprised with how similar the cabin looked. “Nice place,” he murmured.

“Uh, so I have this cushion chair, if that’s cool. Or I could lay some covers on the floor, whatever you’d prefer.” Nico glanced around. “I mean this was your idea,” he added stoically.

Nico smiled to himself. “I’ll take the chair,” he said softly. He walked over to the chair and sat down, leaning his head into the crook of the chair and resting his elbow on the cushioned arm. He shut his eyes as Will left the room to change and opened them when he felt something drape over him.

It was a blanket. “My cabin can get pretty cold if you’re not waking up with terror sweats,” Will muttered before climbing onto the bed.

“Thanks. Goodnight, death boy.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Night, sunshine.” Nico smiled as Will curled up in his bed, his silhouette only visible by the moonlight coming in through the window.

He couldn’t remember falling asleep, or even dreaming, but suddenly, a terrified scream made him open his eyes. He stood from the chair hastily as he realized Will was sitting up in bed, pulling at his hair with one hand and clawing at his shirt with the other. He was screaming, breathing shallowly and rapidly.

Immediately, Nico was at his side, pulling his arms away. His hands had burst into beams of soft golden light, illuminating Will’s terrified, sweaty face. “Hey, Will, hey, look at me, look at me, Will,” he insisted. “Will, focus, look at me, it was just a nightmare, okay, take a deep breath.” Will’s panicked eyes met Nico’s. His entire body was shaking, tears streamed down his face, and the covers were tangled and lopsided on his legs.

Nico hadn’t realized it, but his hands had cupped Will’s as he murmured reassurances, causing the wisps of light to fold and curve around his rugged, sharp features. “Just focus on me, okay? Deep breaths. It was a nightmare. You’re not there anymore, it’s over.”

“No it’s not,” Will moaned. “It’s never over. It never will be.”

“Yes, yes it will,” Nico insisted. “You need help, but it will be over. I can help you.” Will looked at him with so much pain, it made Nico’s stomach twist. Was there a time when he looked at Will that way? Did it hurt Will as much as it hurt Nico?

Without thinking, Nico reached a hand over and placed it on his cheek, only to have Will pull away. “What are you doing?” he demanded. “Get off- get off my bed.”

Of course. He was beginning to close off again. Trying not to feel hurt, Nico got off the bed and stood awkwardly. “I was just checking your temperature,” he whispered. “Your shirt is stuck to your body…. You should change.” Will glanced at his shirt, soaked through with sweat. He wiped his nose and groaned. When he tried to get up, he growled at the covers which had restrained his legs. “Here, I can help.”

Nico moved before Will could protest and helped him get the covers off. Will didn’t say anything as he left to get another shirt. When he came back, he stood beside the bed, staring at it. “What is it?” Nico asked nervously.

“I don’t want to go back to sleep. It’ll just happen again,” he croaked, his voice hoarse from screaming.

“I could stay up and talk with you. I’ll either bore you to sleep or… help you stay awake.” Will’s eyes flitted to him and in the moonlight, they looked almost transparent. “Or I could leave, if you want….”

Will sat down on his bed and brought his knees up to his chest. “What could you possibly have to talk about?” he muttered. Nico smiled, knowing this was his prideful way of asking him to stay.


	4. Ch. 4

They had spent the night talking at a safe distance. Will cross legged on his bed with his covers draped around him, and Nico with his legs over the arm of the cushioned chair. He’d managed to recount all of the Mythomagic rules and cards as Will listened with a small smile on his face.

“What?” he asked once he’d finished.

“Nothing,” Will said, suppressing a smile. “You’re just… a really big dork.” Nico felt his face flush and he grabbed the pillow behind him, flinging it at Will. Will blocked it with his cover and burst into laughter. Nico realized he hadn’t heard the sound in a long time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Will laugh.

The sunlight streamed through the window, hazy and soft, illuminating his pale features. “Oh crap! I have to get to the infirmary.” He hadn’t realized the sun had come up.

“Um, hey,” Will said as Nico tugged his shoes on. Nico glanced at him. “So… I mean it was kind of cool to watch you fixing up the other patients when I was there…. And I don’t really have anything to do or…. I mean, I was just wondering if….”

Nico fought back his smile and tried to seem nonchalant. “I could use some help if you want to come with. I’ll teach you some stuff too.” Will looked at him and smiled.

“Yeah. That sounds cool,” he said.

He got off the bed and pulled on his boots, not bothering to tie them. Nico gave him a pointed look, but preferred not to waste his breath.

They left the cabin together, and although it was early, a few people were awake and heading toward the pavilion. Their faces turned into shock as they noticed them walking out together. Nico could almost sense Will curling into himself behind him.

“I’ll race you,” he suggested, to distract him. “Last one there is a rotten egg!” He burst into a run and heard Will run after him.

Surprisingly, Will had begun outrunning him and reached the infirmary a second before Nico could. “And I did it,” he said, panting for breath, “with my laces untied!”

Nico rolled his eyes and mimicked him as he walked inside. Will chuckled and walked in after him. “Okay. So here’s the gauze and the wound pads,” he said pointing to a drawer. “Here’s ointments and salves,” he said opening a cabinet. “The real scary stuff is in the closet. Surgery level stuff. And ambrosia and nectar are in that drawer there.”

“Okay. I mean I don’t think anyone will want me working on them, but okay.” Nico raised an eyebrow and Will raised his own in response.

“I don’t know where Nico is, but I- oh. There he is,” Bianca said as she walked in. “Hey, Will.” Will nodded and scooted back. “Harley wants you to help him. He was building something and cut his hand and leg really bad.”

Nico looked at the eight-year-old who was sniffling as he limped in beside Bianca. “Sure, come here, buddy.” He lifted Harley onto a cot and looked at Will. “Could you get the disinfectant and the larger bandages?” Bianca began to speak, but Will was already moving toward the cabinet and drawers.

Nico glanced at Bianca whose eyes were wide with surprise. She looked at Nico and lowered an eyebrow as she smiled. Will returned and gave Nico the things he needed to heal Harley’s cuts.

“It’s okay to cry, you know?” Nico said as Harley wiped at his eyes before tears could fall.

He shook his head. “I wanted to build something and I hurt myself. I can’t cry because I knew it was dangerous.”

“But it hurts, doesn’t it?” Nico asked as he cleansed the wounds. Will was watching beside him. Harley nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as the disinfectant burned him. “You’re a kid, it’s okay to cry when you hurt yourself.” Harley nodded and his large tears fell down his face as he grit his teeth. Nico set to work on his leg. “I might have to stitch this one a bit.” Harley whimpered as Nico grabbed the needle and thread from a cabinet.

“Sometimes, when something hurts, I think about the colors around me,” Will said softly. Nico glanced over and saw him looking at Harley. “It gives me a distraction from what hurts.” Harley blinked at him and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around as Nico refocused on his leg.

“Brown. White. Black. That’s it.”

“Look harder. At the smaller colors hiding between,” Will encouraged. Nico smiled to himself. That sounded familiar.

Harley was quiet for a moment. “Blue and red on the first aid kit. Gold, like your hair. Yellow in Bianca’s headband. Dark green covers and green medicine. Purple flowers! Orange camp shirts!”

“Done,” Nico announced.

Harley looked down in surprise, his tears dried on his cheeks. “Nice job, buddy,” Will said. Harley smiled at him and Will gave him a high five.

“Hey, why’s your sword black?”

“It’s Stygian Iron. It destroys a monster’s essence completely.”

Harley’s eyes widened. “Can I touch it?” he asked.

Will laughed and held it out. “Here, I’ll help you hold it.” Nico smiled, so absorbed in the moment, he hadn’t noticed Bianca standing beside him.

“Where were you last night?” she asked.

He jumped and looked at her. “Hades cabin,” he answered. “I chaperoned his sleep. He has nightmares.” She nodded and squinted at him. “I’m fourteen, Bianca. Relax.”

“You showed him around the infirmary?”

“He… wanted to learn,” he answered, blushing. Suddenly Bianca was tousling his hair. She wrapped him up in her arms and laughed delightedly. “Let go of me!” he gasped. “Bianca!”

“Nope!” she said, pulling him into a headlock.

“That’s not fair, I can’t fight you, you’re a girl!” he protested.

“No, you just can’t fight me because you suck!” she teased. Nico grunted as he tried to pull away, but Bianca’s arms were insanely strong. And it made sense- she was an exceptional archer. Nico struggled against her, but it wasn’t until she let go that he was finally freed.

“You know,” he panted, “one day I’ll be bigger than you, and I’m going to get you back.”

Bianca stuck her tongue out at him. Harley hobbled over to her. “Hey Bianca, can we go feed the pegasi?” he asked.

“Sure thing buddy! Let’s get you some crutches for your leg.” She walked away with him and led him out of the infirmary.

When Nico looked over at Will, his stomach dropped. His nose was red, his eyebrows furrowed, his head down, his shoulders tense. “Will?” he whispered. He looked up, his pale blue eyes filled with quiet pain and suffering. “Will, what is it?” He shook his head and Nico got closer, his hands in his pockets. “Hey. You know that thing about crying counts for fifteen year olds too.”  

Will scoffed and shook his head, but his tears brimmed over and fell into his palms. “I miss her so much,” he said softly. Nico’s eyebrows knitted together and he took a hesitant step closer. “You’re so lucky, Nico. You’re lucky you have your sister and that she gets to annoy you and mess with you and tease you. I’d give anything to have Kayla back.”

“Will,” he said softly. His shoulders were shaking as he hid his face. Slowly, Nico put a hand on his shoulder. Will gasped and looked up. Nico pulled his hand back, afraid to anger him, but Will didn’t say anything. So he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him.

For a second Will tensed. Then he broke down into heartbreaking sobs and his arms came up to hug Nico back. Nico’s arms tightened around him as he tried to remind him he wasn’t alone. That his pain mattered. That it was okay to need someone else and it was okay to feel upset. That he cared about him so much it was unreal, and all he wanted was to take this hurt away from him.

Nico hadn’t realized that his hands were glowing until Will’s crying had lessened and he pulled back to look at the light that was enveloping them. “Why are your hands glowing?” he croaked. “And why are you crying?”

Nico blinked in surprise and looked down at his hands. “I… I think they’re triggered by my emotions,” he said. “I just….” He shrugged and wiped at his eyes. “I don’t want to say I’m sorry. It doesn’t help. But… I’m here for you, Will. It’s okay to… want someone else around.”

Will blinked at him, his eyes flitting between his eyes. “You are a very strange person, Nico.”

“I’ve been told,” he said softly with a smile.


End file.
